The "Middle East and Terrorism" Blog was created in order to supply information about the implication of Arab countries and Iran in terrorism all over the world. Most of the articles in the blog are the result of objective scientific research or articles written by senior journalists.

From the Ethics of the Fathers: "He [Rabbi Tarfon] used to say, it is not incumbent upon you to complete the task, but you are not exempt from undertaking it."

Monday, June 6, 2016

The return of tuberculosis to the United States - Thomas Lifson

by Thomas Lifson

Data
from the Vermont Department of Health show that more than one-third of
refugees resettled in Vermont test positive for tuberculosis.

Another
aspect of President Obama’s “fundamental transformation” appears to be
the return of tuberculosis to the United States, adding one more
dimension of third world status to our new way of life. A highly
communicable and fatal disease, TB is spread by coughing, making its
spread in crowded environments – theatres, subways, schools, you name it
-- particularly likely.

One
of the epic battles in the history of public health in the United
States was the (until now) successful effort to contain it. I vividly
remember returning to the United States from Tokyo in 1968 on a flight
that had many Filipinos connecting from Manila. They were required at
that time to bring dated chest x-rays certifying that they did not carry
TB, and the line of them at the health screening desk at JFK airport
was long and slow.

Those
days are gone, and our federal government is actively bringing TB
Carriers into the United States and dispersing them among our population. Consider just two stories today. Michael Parker Leahy at Brietbart:

Two
workers at Mercy Hospital and Abbot Northwestern Hospital, both located
in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area and owned by Allina
Health, have been diagnosed with active tuberculosis (TB).

“I
can confirm that one hospital worker at Mercy Hospital and one hospital
worker at Abbott Northwestern Hospital were diagnosed with active TB,” Allina Health Vice President of Marketing and Communications David Kanihan tells Breitbart News. (snip)

The open ended nature of the Allina Health statement released on Friday — “In late May, Allina Health began notifying 141 people who had been patients at either Abbott Northwestern Hospital or Mercy Hospital earlier this year that they may have been exposed to tuberculosis (TB). At each location, we learned that a worker who helped deliver care had TB.” (emphasis added) — raises more questions than it answers.

It
is not clear when in 2016 the active TB cases in these two Allina
Health workers were diagnosed, or when Allina Health first began
communicating with the Minnesota Department of Health about these cases.Neither Allina Health nor the Minnesota Department of Health clarified that timeline when asked by Breitbart News.The Minnesota Department of Health reported that in 2014, 73 percent of the 147 active cases of TB in Minnesota were foreign born.

Data
from the Vermont Department of Health show that more than one-third of
refugees resettled in Vermont test positive for tuberculosis.Since
2013, about 900 refugees admitted to the Green Mountain State have been
tested for tuberculosis, a potentially fatal infectious disease
affecting the lungs. Of that number, 318 refugees, or 35.4 percent,
tested positive.Watchdog.org obtained the health data on Wednesday following reporting by Stateline that the disease may be making a comeback in the United States.Refugees
brought to the United States undergo TB tests as part of comprehensive
health screenings. State health departments track the data to monitor
cases and protect against public health crises.According
to IGRA (Interferon-Gamma Release Assays) blood test results from 2013
to the present, the highest percentage of incoming refugees to Vermont
infected with TB occurred in 2013. That year, 108 refugees out of 248
tested, or 43.6 percent, showed positive for TB.

It
is so unfair that the United States has been exempt from plagues like
TB! That is a situation that President Obama and his progressive allies
are remedying. Open borders work just great!